Frost-water shield for gas-meters.



Afl. COCKERELL. FOST WATER SHIELD POB GAS METERS.

APPLIUATIONIILED MAYz. 1910.

987,1 1 1 Patented Mar. 21, 1911 I vSyvum/Vcc@ ANDREW JACKSON (J0CICERELL,4 OF CHIJLIOOTHE, HIO.

FROST-WATER SHIELD Fon eesME'rEris.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Mal, 21, 1911.

Application filed May 2, 1910. Serial No. 558,993.

To all whom'fit may concern.'

Be it known that I, ANDREW J CooKEnELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at (lhillicothe, in the county of Ross and State of Ohio, have invented a certain new and useful Frost-Tater Shield for Gas-Meters, of which the following is a specification.

Gas meters are equipped with registers for registering or recording the volume of gas passing through the measuring chamber of the meter, and incertain types of gas meters, more particularly the ,so-called dry meter', the register is mounted upon the bowl of the meter I.1nd operated by a shaft extending through a stuiiing-box in the top of the bowl. In meters of this type, of which the rIobey dry meter is one I have especially in mind, the mechanism sometimes becomes disor-l dered by reason of ,the fact that 'during the winter season, when there is freezing and thawing weather, water accumulating from the sweat on the glass face or dial of ther register collects in the stuffing box and freezes thereby disconnecting `or breaking the gear connections and stopping the regis'- tration of gas, with consequent loss of revenue to the gas company.

It is the object of m-y invention to obvia'te the above mentioned difiiculty by discharging any accumulated moisture in the regisrl ter box to the exterior of the meter; and this object I attain by means substantially as illustratedin the accompanying drawings, in which: Y

Figure l is a central verticalelevationpartly in section of a Tobey gas meter havlng my improvement embodied therein. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the water shield which is interposed between the register mechanism and the stuffing box.

The nature of the operating or measuring mechanism of the meter selected'for .illusf trating my invention, will be understood by reference to the U. S. patent to llobey, No. 487,907, dated December 13th, 139.2, so that a specific description of the same herein will be unnecessary. Q

In the drawings, l denotes the globular case or bowl of the meter, containing the measuring mechanism which is actuated by the flow of gas through. the meter and operates a crank-shaft 2 which passes through a stufling-box 3 or packinmgland conta-ined in a socket in the top of' the bowl.- Mounted upon the lop of the bowl, over the stuffing box. is tinl register box 4E, whichcontanxm the re isterng mechanism and has 'a glass face p ate over the dial. The register-box has an open bottom and is fastened upon the bowl by screws 5 inserted; through lugs pro jecting from the base of the register-box. Operative-connection between'.` the registermechanism and crank-shaft 2 is provided by a crank-arm 6 on said shaft which en,- gages an arm 7 on the shaft 8 ofv pinion 9,

' which latter communicates motion to the caring of the register. An arm l() atlixed inside the register-box provides aV bearing 11 for the shaft 8. f

' As thus far described the structure is not.

novel, and it has been found in practice that' the accumulation of moisture from the sweat on the face of the dial collects in the stuifing-box and freezes with the objectionable results before stated. To obviate this trouble, I have provided a frost water shield l2, consistingfof a convex plate, preferably of sheet metal, which` is placed upon the top of the bowl over the stutlin g box and under the fregister-bon3 the same being clamped between the register-box andthe bowl. The

'said shield or plate has a central opening 13 bowl. vThese projectionshor tabs raise the' bottom of the register-box slightly above the top of thebowl, and leave an opening around the rim or margin ofthe shield. for the'escape of waterA from the upper surface of the shield.

Writn this device, water collecting from the glass face or dial of the register-box falls upon and isr shed by the convex upper surface of the shield, and isvdischarged un der the bottom edges of the register box upon the outside of the meter case or bowl;

Vthus lpreventing de'rangement of the mechamsm of the meter fromlthe cause hereinbef` fore mentioned. f,

The water shield ,will of course,'protecti the stuffing box from sweatl collected from.

the entire register box. The shield will also protect the mechanism from broken glass,

iin

it being frequently found that the dial is broken and articles of lass get into the mechanism, t ereby interaring with its operation; and. the shield will in fact roteet the stuffing box from any and all oreign substances. I claim as my invention cure by Letters Patent:

` 1. In a gas meter having a register-oper atingishaft extending through a stuliing-box in the top ofthe bowl of the meter, and having a register-box mounted upon the bowl over the stuffing-box, the combination with the bowl, shaft, stuliing-box and registen and desire to sebox, lof ash'ield :for the stuffing-box arranged in the lower part of the registerbox and having an outwardly-sloping upper surface for shedding water accumulatin from the sweat on the glass faceordial o the register, the, apparatus being constructed to provide an opening under the bottom edge of the register-box forescape of water from he shield to the exterior surface of the owl.

the bottom edge of the register-box and,

leaving a space between the latter and the edge of the plate for the discharge of water to the exterior surface' of the bowl.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

ANDREW JACKSON GOGKRELL,

Witnesses:

J. M. HUGHEY, E. A. TINKER. 

